10 Shopify products updates merchants shouldn’t miss - Shopify ‘23 Winter Editions

It’s no news that the only constant in eCommerce is change. As the industry continues to evolve, staying ahead of the curve has never been more crucial in maintaining competitiveness. 

Bi-annually, Shopify releases more than 100 new products and updates for businesses and developers to build experiences targeted to consumers' changing needs and heightening expectations. Following the Summer ‘22 Connect to Consumers Edition, Shopify just announced its '23 Winter Edition - Built to Last, which as the name implies is all focused on empowering merchants and developers to build for the next generation of eCommerce. 

With 100+ product enhancements, Shopify, once again, capacitates merchants’ longevity through continuous innovation. 

Let’s dive into the details of the top 10 Shopify product updates merchants should be looking into! 

Top New Shopify Features

1. Shop App Customization

Shop helps merchants connect with a growing audience base of highly-engaged, verified Shop users to drive growth and create more opportunities for conversion. Now, Shop is even more customizable; product collections, descriptions, best sellers, and branding can all be easily custom-built. Merchants can also opt to feature product reviews and host shoppable brand content and videos to build for the future of mobile commerce which is growing faster than ever.

As for users, the sign-in experience uses saved passkeys and Shop credentials. Not only is new frictionless, password-less sign-in correlated to a better user experience but also speeds up the path to purchase and increases the likelihood of conversion.

2. Build using Shop Mini and integrate experiences directly into the Shop app

As an expansion to the Shopify ecosystem, developers can now unlock a new way to build for mobile using Shopify’s React Native SDK. The Shop Mini software development kit provides ample ready-to-use shopping components such as search, product pages and cart as well as powerful retail components for developers to build innovative in-app experiences and connect with millions of Shop app users through an end-to-end mobile shopping experience.

3. New one-page Checkout and Checkout extensions

The world's best-converting and most trusted checkout is becoming even more streamlined. Shopify's Checkout will default to a one-page experience that's optimized using learnings from Shop Pay. Fewer fields to fill and faster page load times translate to less friction and a faster path to purchase both of which are directly related to increasing conversions. 

That isn’t all when it comes to Checkout. 

More extensibility is available for Shopify Plus merchants who can now install apps to add functionality to checkout through an all-new Checkout Editor. As for development, developers can build apps for code-free customizations and enjoy more flexibility to build bespoke checkout apps with Shopify’s UI component library, UI extension and branding APIs, and Functions. 

4. AI-generated store content

Crafting product pages and descriptions is one of the key factors for a storefront’s success, specifically in the early stages. It also happens to be one of the most time-consuming. 

With Shopify Magic, Shopify’s artificial intelligence tools designed for commerce, merchants can create high-quality, compelling product descriptions in a matter of seconds; saving them time and helping them launch products faster. Merchants will only need to input product features and key product keywords, and Shop Magic will produce compelling, tone-specific, and converting product descriptions for them.  

5. Store Customization with metaobjects

Merchants can now group metafields and create a customized data entry for their business from Shopify Admin using metaobjects. The reusable, structured nature of metaobjects allows merchants to easily pull content onto their storefronts using Storefront APIs. 

Product information such as features, specifications and size charts can be stored and edited seamlessly from the Shopify Admin and can be drafted, edited, translated, and referenced directly within the online store editor. 

6. Shop Cash campaigns

Using the first-of-its-kind pay-per-sale acquisition program, Shopify Plus merchants can sustainably grow their business and engage their high-impact consumers. This feature is one that both users and merchants will benefit from; consumers earn Shop Cash every time they use Shop Pay and Shopify Plus merchants can target these shoppers with targeting discounts and offerings through Shop Cash campaigns. 

Shop Cash campaigns are a perfect alternative to PPC campaigns as we know them; merchants will only be charged when a customer is acquired, and the cost-per-acquisition (CPA) should never go above the merchant’s prespecified parameters

7. The Shop Promise

Shopify Fulfillment Network (SFN) merchants now have the Shop Promise badge enabled automatically on their storefronts. The Shop Promise badge helps customers convert with trust as merchants communicate reliable and fast delivery dates powered by Shopify’s intelligent software and shipment and fulfillment network. 

This, along with the strengthened Shopify configurable porch-to-porch offering, is expected to increase conversions by 25, as per Shopify Data. 

8. Internationalization with Markets Pro

Going international is no longer out of reach, in fact, it’s never been more within reach. With Markets Pro, an all-in-one internationalization solution, merchants can sell in multiple countries from one Shopify Store. From localizing storefronts and handling cross-border complexities to calculating duties and taxes and complying with regulations, cross-border expansion has never been easier and more cost-effective.

9. B2B Improvements

In its previous Editions, Shopify announced a new set of features built pointedly for B2B merchants, directly into Shopify Admin, and with access to all of Shopify’s most potent customizations like store themes, discounts, and Functions. Now, and after 6 months of going live, Shopify has made some enhancements to its B2B functionality including quantity rules, easy re-ordering, consistent checkout branding, and custom B2B logic for merchants to meet the needs of both their B2B and DTC customers with logic that works for their B2B workflows, using Shopify Functions.

Shopify has also launched new B2B APIs for merchants to create the custom solutions their wholesale business needs. That, along with B2B-compatible apps and down to B2B loyalty programs, is a way forward in holding the B2B customer journey at the same par as that of B2C.  

10. Building and Managing creator partnerships with Shopify Collabs

Collaborations have become more essential than ever in driving brand growth in today’s zero-party data landscape. Brands can now leverage Shopify Collabs to recruit and manage creators who are promoting their products, endorsing their brand, and ultimately increasing sales. 

Whether it’s for launching an ambassador program, tracking affiliate networks and payments, finding new creators using branded application pages and sending them a little something, Shopify Collabs offers most, if not all, necessary tools to help brands expand their community and scale their presence. 

Again, constant innovation in eCommerce is crucial to meeting new industry trends and changing consumer behaviors. These new Shopify products are featured apace with major releases and developer tooling from across the Shopify platform in the last six months all exemplifying Shopify’s commitment to relevance and maintaining competitiveness, both for merchants and as an eCommerce Platform. 

For now, it’s time to think long-term.